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Ganesha festival shopping plus more

Adam and I went to Bangalore to celebrate the Ganesha festival with my parents. We went shopping to an old market in Ulsoor.

Apart from the shopping, we have added photos of the festival itself. Check out the cool video of my mom making one of Ganesha's favorite sweets. -V

TSA in Hu-bba-alli?!

Check out the shirt my taxi driver was wearing yesterday! He loved the fact that I took his photo...I did enquire where he got it from..."market, madam!" -V

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Finally Getting Out to the Field

Last Friday I had the opportunity to join Dr. SR Hiremath (shown above), the director of Dharwad-based NGO Samaj Parivartana Samudaya (SPS), to check out an ongoing afforestation project on more than 350 acres of land in the southwest portion of the Haveri District (directly south of Hubli-Dharwad). SPS has linked local workers, local leaders, and the Karnataka State Forest Department together to develop this project. Currently there are more than 40 workers from nearby villages who re supervised by local leaders and paid using funds provided by the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA)*.

All of the species planted here are native to this region of Karnataka, and all of the seedlings were provided by the State Forest Department. SPS worked with the Forest Department to choose the species and verify that each sapling is at least one year old. Doing so ensures that the trees have a high probability of maturing and thriving in this environment. Dr. Hiremath explained that obtaining these native species from the local nursery was an accomplishment, as the Forest Department generally plants non-indigenous trees like Eucalyptus that is sold directly to the pulp and timber industry. Planting native species also provides more fodder for local livestock and biomass that can be used for firewood.

I found the visit to be very insightful, and was interested to learn how NREGA could be used not only to build local roads and schools, but also for ecological restoration. SPS is active in many of these initiatives, and regularly works with communities to connect their need to work with the organization’s goal of improving the environment. The key, Dr. Hiremath said, is that the locals understand that the citizens know that although NREGA gives them a right to work, it is also their responsibility to demand that the local leaders provide them with the proper work as well.

*NREGA guarantees 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to any rural household whose adult members are willing to participate in unskilled manual work. It has been heralded as important step towards realization of the right to work and arresting out-migration of rural households in search of employment while simultaneously enhancing people’s livelihood on a sustained basis, by developing the economic and social infrastructure in rural areas. Specifically, it aims to generate productive assets, protect the environment, empower rural women, and limit rural-urban migration by addressing chronic poverty, drought, deforestation, soil erosion and other forms of natural resource management.

Swine Flu Mania

Those of you who live in the U.S. probably recall the media frenzy with swine flu (H1N1). It seemed that every time we tuned into the news, there was some story or another about how the flu is spreading and how it could affect us. Eventually, things calmed down and luckily there were relatively few fatalities.

Well, guess what? That same hysteria has hit the mainstream here in India. Every news channel and newspaper is covering it to the max, giving hourly updates on where it has been confirmed and where we are in the national death count (about 30). Every other store has a sign in the window stating, "We Sell Swine Flu Masks," and there are actually people on the street wearing them (although not a majority...yet). Now, I am all about taking precaution and preventing the spread of a global pandemic, but I also think that this country has many more important things to worry about, including the spread of other infections and diseases (note: I made the same claims when I was witnessing this scare in the U.S.).

The swine flu scare has some positive aspects for me, primarily because it is believed to have been brought over from the West. Specifically, the number of beggers, hawkers, and generally curious people that approach me on the street have gone down dramatically. When I get on the bus, people are eager to get up and give me their seat as they move to the opposite side of the bus. Vidya and I even witnessed a woman shout "foreigner" as she pulled her friend to safety as we walked by.

Let us hope that the panic continues without their being anymore casualties, as I rather enjoy my freedom to roam the streets. - A

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Chili's restaurant in Bangalore! - A